Predictive AI and the End of Guesswork: Insights from Elastic | CMO Chats by The Ortus Club

[MUSIC] We continue our knowledge training mission through a series of interviews and marketing leaders from all over the world and Earthfield to have Jen with us today. Hi Jen, would you be able to introduce yourself? Hi Karen, hi everyone. Welcome to CMO chats. My name is Jen McCarty and I'm the head of marketing for ANZ RELASTIC. Amazing, it's really really good to have you here to be in Jen. Would you be able to tell us about your role at the last? Yeah, of course. So a little bit about myself, I've been a bit to be marketer for 20 years, most of my career in tech and some as well in FSI. I work for unit packet, combat and net app. My philosophy in marketing is about using marketing as a strategic growth engine. And focus on measurable impact. It's also really about connecting the dots between business priorities and what customers cares about the most. In terms of elastic, it's really exciting for me. It's been a year at elastic. Elastic's value proposition is about turning data into real time action. Using a unified AI platform with research, observability and security. My role really is about crafting and leading the gross focus marketing strategy for Australia and New Zealand. And learning with sales, partner org, technical teams around shared outcomes. And finally, ensuring that marketing is a true driver of measurable business outcomes. That sounds like such an exciting and yet intensive role that you have as a head of marketing. But with the experience that you've had, I'm also curious to know how did you get into marketing? Yeah, great question. I've always been in B2B marketing. It really clicked for me very early on. So it was absolutely love at first sight. I majored in marketing in France over 20 years ago. Early in my career, I had the opportunity to spend time in Shanghai, which really brought in my perspective. And over the years, I've built a strong foundation between hands-on practical experience. And what I'm most passionate about is turning complex solution into simple digestible messages, creating unique and engaging customer experiences. And obviously driving measurable outcomes that actually help businesses grow. That sounds really good. And I see that you've worked across different regions across the world, like ANZ, Europe, as well as Asia. Set global experience, shape the way you think about marketing leadership today. Yeah, it's really broad and giving me a broad experience and perspective on how things are slightly different. Yeah, business challenges differ by country, customer expectation vary, and cultural differences really matter. One of the biggest things I've learned is the balance between being globally consistent and locally relevant. And I'll unpack that a little bit. So globally consistent means keeping the core brand story clear, cohesive and consistent. And locally relevant means adapting the story to fit the local culture. I think that's really wonderful to hear and see coming from a marketing leader, such as yourself. But with all of the different facets that you do, but on a daily basis, I'm also curious to know what is your main marketing focus at the moment? And why do you think they're important to your company's growth and success? Yeah, and everybody talks about it. So there's quite a bit of hype at the moment, but I cannot go through that interview without talking about artificial intelligence. But I will talk about AI in the context of how it's transforming marketing. At Elastic, we're applying AI in very practical ways, really. So for example, we use it for scoring leads based on behavioral signals. We're also using it to predict the likelihood of a meaningful sales conversion. And it's helping us move customers through the consideration journey. More specifically, our AI model, analyze things like website activity, content engagement, event participation. And this really helps us prioritize marketing qualified leads that are most likely to convert. So the impact is huge. The impact is huge on the sales team being able to focus on the right opportunities. There's also less wasted effort and obviously faster pipeline growth. And then you brought up some really relevant, I guess, challenge, or pain points, a lot of really a lot of marketers are currently facing today. And I think you've touched on it, which is also related to my next question, which is what would you say is the biggest challenge that marketers are facing today? I think there are lots of challenges, but if I've got to pick one, it will be about catching through and being memorable. One of the biggest challenges today is really standing out in a really crowded market, with overwhelmed with information more than we've ever been. So it's easy to fall into the trap of being a me to brand. So for me, it's about being distinctive in how you show up, having a clear authentic brand voice and creating experience that actually people will remember. And how does that really come through? It's your messaging, it's your customer experience, it's your sort leadership. Because ultimately being memorable is what positioning you as a leader, not just another option, but really a sort leader in the market. Such compelling things, such that really, really interesting. And I think that also is related to the next question or to the next point. With all of the technology, the amount of technology that's available today, what do you believe is the biggest opportunity for marketing leaders or CMOs today that might not have them available in the past? Yeah, I believe the biggest shift is the sheer volume of data we now have access to. It's no longer about guessing what customer want, we can actually see it in real time. In the past, insights were often delayed, incomplete, but now you can connect across multiple touch points and get much clearer picture of the customer journey. What's really powerful is turning that data into actionable insight, not just reporting what happened, but understanding why it happened and what to do next. We can now identify patterns in a way that is simple, wasn't possible before, which makes marketing much more proactive. And if I dig deeper into that, there's another big opportunity which is real time optimization. So when a campaign is in market, you constantly learning, you refining campaign, instead of waiting for the end to evaluate performance. Ultimately, I think the advantage comes down to how well you can translate data into meaningful business decision. That's where CMOs can really differentiate themselves today. Yeah, I would simply agree with you, Vincent, Jan. And so I guess looking back at the past year, 2025, we spend a lot of experiences that happen, a lot of different challenges. But from your perspective, what was the most successful event, or maybe engagement piece that you've hosted and like? Yeah, it's a really interesting question. It's a little bit like picking your favorite child, right? But I will pick one for the purpose of this exercise. So earlier this month, we hosted elastic week of wonder in Sydney. What made it exciting really was bringing all of our communities together through various different activities, yet with a connected thread of experience throughout the week. So if I break down the week for you, we run about six programs for different audiences. We kicked off with a hackathon in partnership with AWS. And that was about bringing in new to elastic and early in career talent for hands on innovation was just astonishing to see the amount of innovation that came through from just the day of hacking. Then we shifted our focus on the Tuesday to technical workshop for existing technical buyers to give them the latest and greatest about elastic. And we also held a leadership forum featuring Tracy Spicer. We talked about responsible AI for business decision makers. And finally on the Thursday, we brought the entire ecosystem together. Customers, partners, media advocates in one space. And the highlight was seeing those different audiences connect with our brand and our point of view through the various experiments and experiences. experiences we've brought together and we've brought to life during that week. Wow, that sounds such an exciting yet fine experience for you, but you know, the feeling of fulfilling it must have been really great afterwards. So congratulations on, you know, Elasticon and I'm sure it went really, really great for you, Dean, as well as your customers and partners. And so we talked about, you know, your experiences for in the past years. Now we want to talk about your priority, yes, for the year ahead. So from your perspective, Jen, what's at the very top of your priority, yes, for this year? So top priority for the year is we know that growing the business, focusing on program that build awareness, generate demands, accelerate pipeline, and overall deliver measurable impact across Australia and New Zealand. I truly believe that growth comes from connecting the right messages to the right audience at the right time, leveraging data and AI to make smarter decision is a must. And finally, ensuring marketing is a strategic engine for the business. Amazing. Thank you for that, Jen. And so I'm curious to know what's, you know, coming from someone who has this extensive experience in marketing, how do you describe the role of the CMO and one word and why? I really see a CMO as a champion and this twofold to that answer. The CMO is the champion internally and externally. So let me unpack that a bit internally. It's about bringing teams together, marketing, sales, product, technical teams to align around a shared strategy. The role of the CMO is to drive collaboration all the way for the organization. So everyone focuses on initiative that moves the business forward. Then the second aspect to that is externally, right? How is the CMO champion externally? He's the champion of connecting with customers partners and communities and building trust and meaningful experiences for the communities. So in short, a CMO unites people and opportunities to fuel measurable growth inside and outside the organization. And then it's the perfect way to encapsulate the role of the marketing leader, especially in this day and age, really the point that Jen. And so I see also, you know, look ahead, right? What themes or priorities do you think will shape marketing leadership over the next year? I think we've touched on a few threading interview. The first one would be being distinctive and memorable in a credit market standing yet through brand voices, unique customer experience and so leadership is absolutely critical. We also talked to that data and AI driven decision making. So really leveraging tools inside to make smarter, faster and more predictive marketing choices. And the last one will be people and trust. I truly believe that companies that communicate authentically, responsibly and with purpose will resonate more with customers and communities. This is definitely everything, you mentioned in that. Right Jen. And so I'm sure there will be listeners to this podcast. You might be wondering about, you know, what will be the look of what you're advocating? And so from your perspective, Jen, what could your advice would you give to anyone who wants to start a career in marketing? I will share an advice that was given to me by a CMO I worked for. And it's about just have a goal. So that's CMO in particular, even had a have a go award. And that mindset really has stuck with me. Marketing is really a balance of theory and practice. You can study the principle endlessly, but real success come from iteration. Market feedback, adapting quickly. So the key mindset tips would be be curious, take calculated risks, learn from what works, and more importantly, what doesn't. And don't be afraid to step up, try new things. Every experiment is an opportunity to grow. Very inspiring. Thanks. Thank you for that. And so we move on into the last question if we're into you. And this is out of curiosity, right? If you could ask marketing leaders, such as yourself, just one question. What would it do? Essentially, I'd be keen about learning how other CMOs approach sustainable and consistent strategic growth in fast moving markets. How do you stay agile yet disciplined when priorities shift? How to avoid constantly chasing short-term signals? And instead filter what actually matters versus what's just noise?